TWO Countries and ELEVEN States

[floridafan101]

Hi all

So as the title says this is the plan.

It's a big birthday this year so the plan has been, since my last big birthday to go to New York for 'my special day' in October.
We discussed various options as you do, a long weekend, split stays, etc etc. It was a close call to have a few days in NY then head to Florida for some sun. However the decision was made to forgo the heat and instead explore somewhere we have never been as we have been fortunate enough to enjoy many holidays to our favourite state.
Last year we spent 3 amazing weeks in California and I have to admit that is going to be hard to beat. We packed everything in those weeks and saw so many fantastic sights that it has been impossible to narrow down the highlights.
What was interesting was the lack of beach time we had and how actually we didn't miss it too much. The weather was perfect and we do like it hot so that's the only slight hmmmm to this trip as we may not be taking shorts this time!

So to the trip.
FLIGHTS
I managed to bag 4 flights to NY with Thomas Cook for £1200 which I was happy with. We've flown with them before and whilst not the most exciting the flights were fine. They are direct from Manchester and times were good so looking forward to short flight times and no transfers. Last year involved a 6 HR layover in Dublin airport which wasn't fun. We fly Thurs 19th October and fly out on Friday 3rd November back on the Saturday.
We are taking our 2 youngest sons who will be 8 and 10 then and leaving our elder son who is doing a'levels home with his eldest brother (yes lots of sons) to keep an eye on things.
WHERE TO GO?
Similar to California you think you have loads of time until you start planning and then find you could do with another week preferably 2 to fit in everything. We've played around with soooo many different combinations it's been quite a headache. I think partly because I don't know the area as well as I knew California (had been once before) and Florida so wasn't sure what we wanted to see. However a plan has now been agreed it may change but probably not. Does anyone get that feeling when you've planned your route and it just feels right? Maybe just me.
Anyway here goes.
ROADTRIP
4 nights in NY
Pick up car from JFK and drive to Washington stopping off in Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and the 'Rocky Steps'. We may have to recreate this. This will be a theme I think of historical culture and media culture sightseeing!

3 nights in Washington
1 night in Dubois or somewhere similar including a side trip to Punxsutawney. You Bill Murray fans will understand, even if it wasn't filmed there.

1 night Niagara Falls (Canadian side for the view) should be a friday night so we will see the fireworks.
Then the idea is to drive through Canada to Brocksville near the Thousand Islands area.

Hoping it looks like this 😀
1 night Brocksville
2 nights White Mountains area
3 nights Boston
Then drive back to JFK for the flight home via a ferry from New London, Rhode Island taking in the Hamptons on the way to the airport.

I'll update later with hotels etc. But what do the Dibbers think? Interested in hearing about any similar trips.
Lots of driving but we are used to that.
Need to plan out our days but researching all that at the moment.
What do we do in my birthday?
To be honest after California I was feeling that nothing could match up to that but am now feeling like this could well be another fantastic trip

Thanks for reading

[WileyCoyote]

Looks amazing. We are doing a road trip for my big birthday too but a different set of states. There is so much to plan ! Very interesting to see how the sons you leave at home get on ... We are also leaving ours on their own for the first time and I am struggling to cram everything into a couple of weeks ... So I can relate to lots of your comments.

It looks a fab combination of cities and scenery. It will be fantastic !

[floridafan101]

Hi thanks for the reply. I've read a lot of your trippies over the years (bit of a fan) (-; and you've had some fab holidays. Was very jealous of the 40 night trip with your boys you did back in 2012!
I feel the holidays we've had with all of us have been very special but times change and I appreciate going on holiday with your parents and younger brothers isn't as fun as going with your friends. We've not left him for longer than a couple of days before so will be both a worry and a wrench.
I love a challenge, organising everything, finding a bargain and those out of the way things to see but this trip has been hard. Where are you heading on your next one?

[neilhd]

We did a similar trip last year - Toronto -> Niagara -> New York -> Boston -> Ottawa -> Toronto (with a couple of stops along the way).

We loved it so much that we're doing another one this year, this time doing Montreal -> Long Island -> Philadelphia -> Washington -> Niagara Falls -> Toronto

Your trip sounds great!

[Frankie & gang]

Your trip looks great. We're hoping to go to New England (Boston, White Mountains, Vermont) etc Sept/Oct 18 leaving DS at uni final year & DD uni 1st year.
Looking forward to your updates!

[tocpe321]

OP looks like a really great trip. We did a fly drive a couple of years ago. Few nights in NY then Cape Cod, Boston, Bar Harbor, White and Green Mountains. We then flew back out of Newark.

We had a really great time.

We have booked for California this year we're alternating with you!

Happy planning.

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by floridafan101

Hi thanks for the reply. I've read a lot of your trippies over the years (bit of a fan) (-; and you've had some fab holidays. Was very jealous of the 40 night trip with your boys you did back in 2012!
I feel the holidays we've had with all of us have been very special but times change and I appreciate going on holiday with your parents and younger brothers isn't as fun as going with your friends. We've not left him for longer than a couple of days before so will be both a worry and a wrench.
I love a challenge, organising everything, finding a bargain and those out of the way things to see but this trip has been hard. Where are you heading on your next one?

See more...

Ah, thank you for the kind words , we think very fondly of our 2012 trip too . It set the bar for last year for sure !

When I tell people I am feeling a bit anxious/ guilty about leaving the lads ,they usually ask how old they are .. And when I say oh they will be 20 and 17 , it's like whaaaat .. Get a grip woman. Dominoes pizza profits will rocket for the three weeks we are away, I can predict that for sure.

We are off to Tennessee, starting in Dallas, over to Arkansas to see the Ozark Mountains and then a road trip from Memphis to the Smokies. A quick flight to Florida to have a few days of uninterrupted shopping at the end. Very excited to have some old and new things in there. Lots of planning

Looking forward to seeing more x

[floridafan101]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Ah, thank you for the kind words , we think very fondly of our 2012 trip too . It set the bar for last year for sure !

When I tell people I am feeling a bit anxious/ guilty about leaving the lads ,they usually ask how old they are .. And when I say oh they will be 20 and 17 , it's like whaaaat .. Get a grip woman. Dominoes pizza profits will rocket for the three weeks we are away, I can predict that for sure.

We are off to Tennessee, starting in Dallas, over to Arkansas to see the Ozark Mountains and then a road trip from Memphis to the Smokies. A quick flight to Florida to have a few days of uninterrupted shopping at the end. Very excited to have some old and new things in there. Lots of planning

Looking forward to seeing more x

See more...

Wow that sounds amazing! That's the thing with the USA though there are so many amazing places to visit. Just not enough annual leave to do it all. I love the planning my DH isn't interested in poring over maps and TripAdvisor and Trivago trying to get a good deal. However he is good at the driving part when we get there so it's a good partnership.
I'm still having pangs about not getting to Florida this year especially as we missed last year too but I've made this 'special birthday' year about trying new things. Bratislava next month, just me and DH for a weekend, camping in a tipi, learning ballroom dancing! So much as I love Florida and always will there's so many new things to see that we're staying up north in the cold brrrr!
I'll be looking for updates from you too, thanks for the encouragement.

[floridafan101]

So here we are in January, guide books at the ready and fully charged iPad ready to explore the American North East. It's a scary prospect, not an area I know much about, but that's what makes it a planning challenge! And I love a challenge!
So flights are booked, the route is decided and it's onto hotels.
Now I read that October is one of the most expensive times to visit! Now I read that after booking the flights! Duh!
So I've decided 4 nights in NY is probably enough for us. Not that we will get to see everything in that time but given that we probably won't be doing any shopping, going to a show or basking in a warm sunny Central Park let's go with 4 days and hope it's like this.

Hotels for 4 preferably with breakfast. Yes I know I can head out and get something for a coffee shop, Starbucks etc but my male army marches on its stomach and if that tummy isn't full DH and DSs 1 and 2 will not be their usual affable selves.

So easier where possible to feed them and then head out.
So despite the special birthday and because of a very expensive 3 weeks last year in California, the falling dollar rate and plans for various other excursions this year I am trying in the face of exceedingly difficult odds to bring this holiday in on budget. This means no manhattan hotels and we are staying in Long Island City at the Nesva Hotel.

This looks a decent bet, near public transport which gets us to Times Sq in about 15 mins. The reviews are good and it's a safe neighbourhood. It also didn't break the bank!
We usually go out first thing and don't come back all day so it's not as though we need somewhere close we can pop back to. Just need to plan our time in NY now and that's going to be fun!

More later...

[Melbatb]

We stayed just opposite on LIC! It suited us fine - easy to get onto Manhattan and a lot cheaper!

Have a fun trip!